Gripping device



. J. f. MOODY. GRPPING DEVICE. Arrucmon mso MAQ 9, |919.

1,356,458, Pgnwd oet. 19,1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

i ,To all whom it may concern:

.citizen of the United States, residin UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH r. moonY, o F AUGUSTA, masas.

GRIFFIN@ DEVICE.

Be it known that I, Jesi-:PH

the present application for patent is designed for gripping oil or otherwell cas- .ing's, pipes, etc., las they .are being raised or lowered,and its object is to provide a simple and highly eicient device of thischaracter, f

^ the .same consisting in a novel combination vand arrangement of partsto be hereinafter described and claimed.

In order that the invention may befbetter understood, 'reference is hadto the accompanying "drawings forming a part of this specification, andin said drawings,

Figure 1 is an elevation of the invention, partly in section; I "F ig. 2is a horizontal section on the line 2--2 of Fig. 1;

F ig. 8 `is a-view similar to Fig. 1 showing a modification, and i F ig.4 is a cross section of Fig. 3 with parts in elevation.

Referring specifically tothe drawings, 5

denotes a support or base block having a.

vertical opening 6 in which seats a series of wedge shaped gripping jaws7 commonly known in the art as slips, the sameV being arranged in acircular series through which the well casing C extends. The opening 6has a downward taper and the slips 7 are slidable therein, and hencewhen they move downwardly in the opening they are crowded inwardly togrip the casing C or other part to be operated on, and when they moveupwardly they recede and release the same. The innerfaces of the slipsare serrated to obtain a\firm grip on the casing or other art. I i

To facilitate the manipulation of the slips 7, they are suspended bychains or other suitable flexible connections 8 from a ring.9

vcarried bya lever 10 which is fulcrumed at 11 on a swingingr support 12pivotedat 13 to the base 5. The end of the. lever 10 carrying the ring 9is forked, as shown at 14, to straddlethe latter, and the fork branchesare pivoted to the ring as 'shown at 15. The ventire set' of slips cantherefore be simultaneously elevated v,to release the cas- The-upwardmovement of the slips Specicationof Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 19, 1920.

Application mea my a, ma. serial mi. 295,940.

is limited by chains 16 connected to the bottom thereof and anchored tothe bottom of the base 5.

The slips 7 are also fiexibly connected in a circular series by a springor other suitable flexible means 17. Each slip has a horizontaltransverse opening 18 from one slide edgeto theother, and the openingsof the slips are in alinement or registry'to produce a continuousoi`annular opening through the'series, in which latter the spring 17 seats,the sprin' being in annular .form and having .a ten ency to crowd theslips inwardly to grip the casing C. The sprin holds the slips snuglyaround the casing and also prevents them from slipping unevenly v'fromone casing section to another when they are released. It will be understood however, that the tension of the spring is not great enough tocause the slips to grip the casing whenthey are elevated, s0 as not tointerfere withthe movement of casing throughthe series of slips.

The device is shown supported on sil blocks' 19 located on the floor ofthe usual cellar beneath fioor 2() of the derrick.

vTo the outer end ofthe lever 1() is pivotally connected, as shown at2l, a link 22 which extends upwardly to the derrick floor 20 and througha slot 23 therein. Byimeans of. this link the lever 10 may be swung toelevateor lower the -slips 7 as hereinbefore described.' The upper endof the link 22 hasa handhold- 24 to facilitate .its operaf remain intheposition it was place to elevate the slips.

A downward movement of the link 22 swingsl the lever 10 to elevate theslips, and it is held down by the dog 26, and upon releasing thelattierVthe link is released to allow the lever to swing to lower the.ring 9, whereupon the slips descend to grip the part C.

The dog 26 is pivoted at 27 to asupport 28 mounted on the derrick floor20, said support having spaced parts 29 between which the dog seats andbetween which the upper end of the link 22 extends.

The slips 7 may also be controlled from the'under side of the base 5 asshown in Figs. 3 and4. Here the base has two dia- Inetrically oppositevertical holes in which rods 30 are slidably mounted, said rods supupperends, above the base.

lower ends of the rode, beneath the base 5,; and it is pivoted to a swining support 31 onv the bottom of thebase. .his structure enables thedevice to be supported/on the derrick floor 2U.

In `the to i of the base 5 may be a recess 32 to seatvtlie ring`9 whenit is down so as to leave the top of the latter free of obstructionswhicli might interfere with elevators or other appliances attached tothe casing C above the ring.

'lhe device provides a handy and safe device for running in and pullingout wellcasing or other parts of the well, it can be easily handled, andit is out of the way so as not to interfere with other operations. If

the hoisting line or the derrick givesaway,

while the slips 7 are up, they can be instantly lowered to grip thecasing or other pait by kicking' the link 22 away from-the ing, aseriesof slips iexibly connected ina' circular series and adapted to enter theand lower the same elevate and lower dogv 2G, which releases the leverl() andallows the ring' to lower thc slips 7 to grip the casing. ll hei]lowering casingf sections, the section below a coupling collar can be 2ffripped .to allow tightening of the collar if it is loose, which issometimes the case. The device can be easily controlled by the. drilleror other person handling the machinery by which the casing or pipe isbeing elevated or lowered. The drawings show the base 5 provided withfoiirslips 7, but their number 1s immaterial and may be varied desired.I claim: l. A gripping device comprising a base havingA a downwardlytaperedvcrtical openp the slips. y

r2. A gripping device comprising a base having a downwardly taperedvertical opening, a series. of slips flexibly connected in a circularseries and adapted to enter the open-y ing in the base, a supportingmember above the slips, flexible suspension means connecting the slipsto said member, and' means carrying the suppoiting member and operableto raise and lower the same to 'elevate and lower the slips.

3. A gripping device comprising a base having a downwardly taperedvertical opening a' circular series of slips adapted to enter theopening in, the base, a resilient member connecting the slips tocontract the same, a supporting member carrying` the slips, 'and meanscarrying the supporting same to elevate and lower lthe slips.

4. A gripping devicecomprising a base having a downwardly taperedvert-ical opening, van annular supporting memberposimember andoperableto raise and lower the.

tioned above the base, a series of 'flexibly' connected slipssuspendedfrom the supportin?,r member and adapted to entertheaforesaidopening when said member is lowered,

and raising and lowering means for the sup-` porting member. i

l In testimony whereof I affix niv swnatu re.

JOSEPH r. Mooor.

